BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R Concept unveiled at Pebble Beach

The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R just had its world premiere at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach. With this car, the BMW Group commemorates the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America as well as the racing triumph of the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975. BMW of North America, the group’s first official sales company outside Europe, was founded in 1975.

This year also marks the debut of BMW Motorsport in motor racing stateside – in the IMSA series – with a specially built BMW 3.0 CSL.

BMW then had its first win at the 12 Hours of Sebring only a few weeks later. It then met several more victories, which include its triumph at Laguna Seca located only 15 miles away from Pebble Beach. Before the year ended, it saw its white BMW 3.0 CSL, which was in BMW Motorsport livery, getting the manufacturers’ championship on its first try.

BMW became a force to reckon with in the racing community of North America with this win, combined with its stunning design and the “Bavarian Motor Works” name featured across the sun protection film on the windscreen and rear window.

Exterior Design

Power and athleticism are exuded by the front end of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R, one of the widest and lowest of any model in the BMW range.

The car’s wheels are emphasized with the flow of the surfaces and graphic accents in the front apron. There is a big version of the signature BMW kidney grille in the centre of the front end. This grille is similar to the upright form popular back then. The sportiness is expressed in the front end with its four-eyed face and contemporary, hexagonal look.

Slim and modern light graphics is made possible due to laser lighting and LED technology. Meanwhile, the headlights’ narrow contours result to a focused look used by the other brand’s cars. Light functions are separated from one another via a stylised, blue-lit “X” inside the lights that is similar to the X-shaped headlight taping seen in endurance races.

Its big, black front splitter is made from carbon fibre. In combination with the kidney grille, it forms a big stylistic aperture that offers a visual indication of the engine’s power and performance. The car is quickly recognized from the side with its front apron and kidney grille offering an updated version of the shark nose used in 1975.

The car’s silhouette has the appearance of being stretched due to its long wheelbase and sweeping bonnet, giving an elegant and sporty look. The line graphics along the car’s flanks add to its look. It comes in the exclusive exterior colour Brilliant White paint with a slight metallic effect, lending a gleam and a stunning sculptural effect.

Its sinewy looks are played up with the line graphics that show off the surface movements in the front, rear and flanks. Dark carbon-fibre surfaces round off the flanks at the lower edge. This demonstrates its commitment to the original BMW 3.0 CSL’s lightweight design.

Another highlight are its matt gold 21-inch light-alloy wheels with black inlays. Sporting intent is obvious in the rear of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. The large rear spoiler and carbon-fibre double diffuser appear to have originated from the racing car blueprint and provide advanced aerodynamics.

The wheels have a powerfully contoured rear apron, hinting at the power of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. It gets a more muscular presence with the BMW Motorsport line graphics that reproduce this movement. It uses a unique rear light design as a strip of LEDs extend along the spoiler to link the two lights and offer a stylistic border for the rear end.

Interior Design

With the automaker’s target of attaining the most ideal union of driver and car, it focused on the driver as the starting point for the design of this model.

To achieve a smooth integration of the driver into this car, the principle of driver focus was extrapolated beyond the interior’s geometric form. The designers considered the driver’s immediate surroundings first. This means that the designers initially worked on the driver’s helmet, race suit and seat and then moved onto the interior’s lines and surfaces. This method is quite a change from the nature of traditional interior functions.

The helmet visor is the layer of interaction that’s nearest to the driver. Hence, the visor takes on the display’s functions and provides information about the situation like the speed, gear engaged, and engine revs. The driver of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R gets an enhanced direct perception. There’s an entirely new approach taken with its Head-Up Display, which has already shown how effective it has been in the series-produced BMW models by giving information without getting the driver distracted.

The driver can focus fully on driving the car with its principle of: “Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel”. The race suit that’s worn by the driver – a classical design from Puma – aids in driving as well as serve as a visual expression of the link between the driver and the car.

When both hands are on the steering wheel, the progress of information is shown in the illuminated piping built into the sleeves of the suit out of the steering column over the arms and into the visor. The driver’s anatomy is reflected in the side-section design of the large carbon-fibre seat shells, offering optimum support in any kind of driving situation.

The seats make sure the body has the best connection with the car, providing a physical feel for it with almost the entire body, leading to a faster and more effective reaction. The seat shells have a rising diagonal path rearwards. This line goes further behind the seats into the rear by a structural carbon-fibre element that raises the torsional rigidity of the car.

The white seat surfaces with fanned-out quilting, built into the seat shell, have the same design as the driver’s race suit. Meanwhile, BMW Motorsport’s signature stripes on the six-point safety harness give an additional splash of color. In the area that surrounds the driver’s seat, the covers have been drawn back and add to its racing character.

The interior is minimalist and features a carbon-fibre roll cage integrated into the structure of the car’s roof and side sections. Every element in the interior is there because it is absolutely necessary. Its function has to be directly related to the structure of to the purpose of driving.

Moreover, the interior is constructed almost totally from carbon fiber. The instrument panel is the lone wood-like component. It is actually a cross-member and is a purely structural element. Notably, the earlier BMW 3.0 CSL had a racing version that featured distinctive wood trim. More information is illuminated through the wood.

Reminiscent of the win achieved in May 1975 at Laguna Seca, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R displays the track layout and braking points through the instrument panel’s wood strip. When light is used this way in the very sophisticated information display, there is no more need for a conventional display. This goes in line with the minimalist concept for its interior.

The wooden surface is broken by only one thing: the small central eBoost charging display. Additional color comes from the BMW Motorsport stripes for the instrument panel surround.

Press Release

BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R

In August every year car enthusiasts from all over the world gather for the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach to immerse themselves in the fascination of both automotive treasures from years gone by and pioneering studies for times to come. The BMW Group has come up with something very special this year with the world premiere of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R – a car that celebrates both the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America and the heady racing success of the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975.

1975 was the year the Bavarian manufacturer founded BMW of North America, its first official sales company outside Europe. It was also the year in which BMW Motorsport made its debut in motor racing stateside – in the IMSA series – with a specially made BMW 3.0 CSL. Just a few weeks later BMW recorded its first, historic triumph at the 12 Hours of Sebring. This was followed by a succession of victories, including one at Laguna Seca, just 15 miles from Pebble Beach. BMW's rookie year duly culminated in the white BMW 3.0 CSL, decked out in eye-catching BMW Motorsport livery, winning the manufacturers' championship at the first attempt. This success, coupled with the car's striking design and the "Bavarian Motor Works" legend emblazoned across the sun protection film on the windscreen and rear window, announced the BMW brand's arrival in racing-mad North America with a bang.

"Motor racing is all about the ability of cars to mesmerise, about the unbridled joy of driving," explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. "And as such it represents the heartbeat of BMW. Back in 1975, as today, winning races came down to how man and machine could work together. Technical innovations have taken the effectiveness of this partnership to ever great heights. And with the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R we're aiming to show how much closer the driver and car can grow in the future."

A new level of driver focus – the interior.Given the aim of achieving the best possible fusion of driver and car, the driver was the logical starting point for the design of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. For the seamless integration of the driver into the car, the designers extrapolated the principle of driver focus beyond the geometric form of the interior. In the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R, the idea of centring attention on the driver begins with his immediate surroundings. This new approach led the designers first to the driver's helmet, race suit and seat before moving onto the lines and surfaces of the interior.

This way of doing things changes the nature of conventional interior functions. As the layer of interaction closest to the driver, the helmet visor assumes the functions of a display and projects situation-based information such as the car's speed, gear engaged and engine revs into the driver's direct field of view. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R thus enhances the driver's direct perception. The idea of the Head-Up Display, which has already proved its effectiveness in series-produced BMW models by flagging up driving-related information without distracting the driver, is therefore expressed in a whole new way. "Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel" is the name of the game – i.e. enabling the driver to concentrate fully on the job of driving the car.

As well as helping him to do his job, the driver's race suit (a classical design by Puma®) visually expresses the connection between the driver and the car. If both the driver's hands are on the steering wheel, illuminated piping integrated into the sleeves of the suit shows the progress of information – from the shift impulse display, for example – out of the steering column over the driver's arms and into his visor.

The side-section design of the large carbon-fibre seat shells reflects the anatomy of the seated driver, thus providing maximum support in any driving situation. At the same time, the seats ensure the driver's body has the best possible connection with the car, giving him a physical feel for it with almost his whole body, in any situation, and thus allowing him to react faster and more effectively. The seat shells follow a rising diagonal path rearwards, a line extended behind the seats into the rear by a structural carbon-fibre element that increases the torsional rigidity of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. The white seat surfaces with fanned-out quilting, integrated into the seat shell, mimic the design of the driver's race suit, while BMW Motorsport's signature stripes on the six-point safety harness add an extra splash of colour.

Commitment to lightweight construction and technical refinement.In the area around the driver's seat, the designers have drawn back the covers on the lightweight design of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R and lent tangible form to its racing character. A carbon-fibre roll cage integrated into the structure of the car's roof and side sections forms the basis for the interior's singularly minimalist geometry. All the elements in the interior are there out of absolute necessity; every component has been designed with a purpose, a function linked directly to the structure of the machine or the job of driving. In an interior made almost entirely from carbon fibre, the only wood-like presence is the "instrument panel" – actually a cross-member and purely structural element. This is a reference to a central element of the earlier BMW 3.0 CSL, in which even the racing version had distinctive wood trim ringing the whole of the interior. A particular highlight here is the additional information illuminated through the wood. Recalling the BMW 3.0 CSL's victory at Laguna Seca in May 1975, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R displays the track layout and braking points through the instrument panel's wood strip. By using light in this way, this ultra-sophisticated, super-smooth information display removes the need for a classical display and slips perfectly into the car's minimalist interior design philosophy. Only the small central eBoost charging display interrupts the flow of the otherwise unbroken wooden surface. BMW Motorsport stripes for the instrument panel surround lend extra colour.

The commitment to paring the car down to the bare essentials places particular emphasis on the steering column. As a mechanical link between the driver and car, it is home to all the operating elements and controls. The only "comfort" function are the two vents on the sides of the steering column, which supply the driver with fresh air at ambient temperature. A small display on the steering column provides the driver with secondary information such as lap times, overall race time and the car's current track position, as required. Other racing elements in the interior include red anodised safety features, such as the outlet nozzles for the fire extinguishing foam, the extinguisher itself, and the two switches on the centre console for the emergency shut-off and fire extinguishing mechanism. The rear only has space for two helmets integrated into the centre tunnel. These are held in place by a belt when not in use. Underneath the longitudinal braces jutting out to the rear are the covers for the eBoost energy accumulators. Meticulously crafted aluminium sleeves add high-quality accents at the junctions between individual structural elements. In its materials and detailed solutions, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage displays both technical sophistication and subtlety of form.

Motor racing through and through – the exterior."Both inside and outside, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R is primarily a reflection of its function," explains Karim Habib, Head of Design BMW Automobiles. "The exterior and interior design is based around the requirements of motor sport as far as the car and driver are concerned; aerodynamics and driving dynamics on the one hand, the most direct connection between driver and machine on the other. In my view, that's something the Hommage car expresses in a very emotional way. At the same time, all the details from the BMW 3.0 CSL are present in the Hommage model. And they are all there to be discovered in their original form. It's a bow to the 1975 car."

The exterior design of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R is a pure expression of motor racing. The stretched body is framed by distinctive air deflectors, powerful wheel arches and a prominent rear spoiler, which likewise cite the successful IMSA racing version of the original BMW 3.0 CSL. Every detail of the Hommage car has its origins in the successful racing machine from 1975, but all have since been updated and integrated technically into a modern design language. The colours and graphics used, not to mention the addition of a number 25, reference the extraordinary record of success notched up by the works BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975. Indeed, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R even revives details such as the "Bavarian Motor Works" decals on the windscreen and rear window. Swathes of exposed carbon fibre spotlight the 1975 model's commitment to lightweight construction and, as a cutting-edge material, bring it into the modern era.

Power and athleticism – the front end.The front end of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R, one of the broadest and lowest of any model in the BMW family, positively exudes power and athleticism. The flow of the surfaces and graphic accents in the front apron showcase the car's wheels and underline its wide, powerful impression. In the centre of the front end is a large version of the signature BMW kidney grille, which references the upright form favoured at the time. The familiar four-eyed face – with its contemporary, hexagonal interpretation – emphasises the sporting intent of the front end. Laser lighting and LED technology enable slim, modern light graphics, and the narrow contours of the headlights give the BMW the focused look typical of the brand's cars. A stylised, blue-lit "X" inside the lights separates the light functions from one another and, at the same time, recalls the X-shaped headlight taping used for endurance races. The large, black front splitter made from carbon fibre and with accents in BMW Motorsport's colours sets the seal on the front end as it plunges down to the road. Together with the kidney grille, it creates a large stylistic aperture, providing a visual hint of the engine's power and performance. From the side, the front apron and kidney grille present a modern take on the shark nose design that was already turning heads in 1975, ensuring the car would be easily recognisable.

From the side – sporting flair with a touch of elegance.The long wheelbase and sweeping bonnet stretch the Hommage car's silhouette visually and lend it a touch of elegance to go with its dominant sporting brio. The familiar line graphics along the car's flanks further strengthen this impression. The exclusive exterior colour Brilliant White with its slight metallic effect adds a gleam to the surfaces and lends the powerful contours a vivid sculptural impact. The line graphics in BMW Motorsport colours pick up the surface movements in the front, rear and flanks, further emphasising the car's sinewy looks. Dark carbon-fibre surfaces round off the flanks at their lower edge and point to the commitment to lightweight design of the original BMW 3.0 CSL. The matt gold 21-inch light-alloy wheels with black inlays add a special flourish.

The rear end – muscular presence.The rear of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R makes a statement of maximum sporting intent. The large rear spoiler and carbon-fibre double diffuser are straight out of the racing car blueprint and brim with aerodynamic sophistication. The powerfully contoured rear apron draws the eye to the car's wheels and, in so doing, visually showcases the power of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. The BMW Motorsport line graphics reproduce this movement, further strengthening its muscular presence on the road. The rear light design is particularly distinctive, a strip of LEDs extending along the spoiler to link the two lights and providing a stylistic border for the rear end.

The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R also cuts a dynamically imposing figure when viewed from above. The bonnet fans out in a wide "V" from kidney grille to headlights, recalling a striking and dynamic element of earlier BMW coupes. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R therefore combines all the classic BMW hallmarks within a modern and emotionally rich design language, adding even greater lustre to the already glittering engineering achievement of 40 years ago.

The BMW GroupWith its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world's leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2014 was approximately € 8.71 billion on revenues amounting to € 80.40 billion. As of 31 December 2014, the BMW Group had a workforce of 116,324 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.